IT Reshoring News

March 08, 2018

Americans Are a Minority in the IT Workforce

Foreign workers now occupy the majority of tech jobs in Silicon Valley. American IT workers, it seems, are not welcome in Silicon Valley anymore. Worse, some people want even more H-1Bs in our offices.

A California business report quietly dropped a bombshell late last year…over half of Silicon Valley jobs requiring a degree are taken by foreign workers.

This is not to say skilled immigration is a bad thing. It's not! However, the Silicon Valley environment is home to tremendous H-1B abuse. The report lays bare its result: Foreign workers hold 57 of every 100 Silicon Valley jobs.

American IT workers have become a minority in their own workforce. It's a horrible statistic for those thousands of skilled IT workers who can't find a job in California.

A related Breitbart article mentioned an initiative to increase STEM education funding. Which, given the circumstances, could make the American IT worker unemployment problem even worse. But that doesn't matter to people who think replacing American IT workers with foreign nationals is a good thing.

Why the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Likes the Idea

In both articles, Silicon Valley Leadership Group President Carl Guardino touted the statistic as a reason why we should allow "Dreamers" to remain in the U.S.

If the name "Silicon Valley Leadership Group" sounds familiar, that's because we discussed it in a 2013 Reshoring News piece. Then, Mr. Guardino dismissed a study saying the "tech skills shortage" businesses use to justify hiring H-1Bs doesn't exist. Now he's using this latest report to argue in favor of MORE H-1Bs!

At least he's consistent. Consistently against the American IT worker.

Why Foreign Workers Have Supplanted Americans in the IT Field

Back in the Middle Ages, they coined a term for those who worked the land for the elite—"serfs." Serfs had no ownership of the land and could not leave. Today, the H-1B has become a tool to supply a cheaper workforce to elite tech companies. At the same time, it handcuffs that worker to that company through their work visa.

Often, these workers have to live communally in order to afford Silicon Valley's high living costs. They cannot freely look for a new job, even after they gain valuable experience via on-the-job training. These people are modern-day serfs.

If the big tech companies hired American STEM students instead, they'd get the same experience levels, and maybe overcome some communication barriers. But they couldn't handcuff the worker to the company. So instead they choose the H-1B…rendering American tech workers ineffectual in their own field.